Falun Gong is a spiritual practice taught by Li Hongzhi. Practicing Falun Gong or protesting on its behalf is forbidden in Mainland China, yet the practice remains legal in Hong Kong, which has greater protections of civil and political liberties under “One country, Two systems.” Since 1999 practitioners in Hong Kong have staged demonstrations and protests against the Chinese government, and assisted those fleeing persecution in China. Nonetheless, Falun Gong practitioners have encountered some restrictions in Hong Kong as a result of political pressure from Beijing. The treatment of Falun Gong by Hong Kong authorities has often been used as a bellwether to gauge the integrity of the one country two systems model. Early development From 1992 - 1994, Falun Gong's founder Li Hongzhi travelled throughout mainland China to teach Falun Gong's practice methods and philosophy. Beginning in 1995, he disseminated his teachings outside the mainland, holding seminars in Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia, and North America. Li held public lectures in Hong Kong in May 1995 on Lantau Island, and again in November 1997. There has been an active Falun Gong community in Hong Kong since at least 1996, and in 1999 practitioners there were estimated to number approximately 1,000. Public activities Several hundred actively practice Falun Gong in Hong Kong, holding a variety of public events and demonstrations to protest against suppression in mainland China and advocate for their rights of their mainland counterparts. On July 23, 1999, approximately 1,000 Falun Gong practitioners gathered in Hong Kong to protest actions taken by the mainland Chinese government. Another large-scale protest was held in January, 2001. Practitioners regularly stage sit-ins, hold public meditation sessions, and frequent popular tourist sites to distribute literature detailing alleged human rights abuses by the mainland government. Tensions with Hong Kong authorities Since the suppression by Chinese authorities begin in July 1999, Falun Gong has retained its legal standing in Hong Kong, and practitioners there are still entitled to freely exercise their beliefs and assemble for protests, marches, and conferences. However, Human Rights Watch reports that the government has “quietly chipped away at the rights” of practitioners in the territory in response to pressure from Beijing. By late 1999, there had been several instances of Hong Kong book stores refusing to stock Falun Gong books. In December of that year, Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa objected to a planned Falun Gong conference, and warned against activities